Prospect Update - January 24th

Jan 24, 2023 - 5:00 PM

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Everything sucks right now. Here are a few exceptions.

Forwards:

Zack Ostapchuk

The Winnipeg Ice’s big trade deadline acquisition is settling into his new role, contributing a goal and three assists in his last three games, for a total of 6 points in 5 games. It’s not the dominance we saw back in Vancouver, but a few more games to adjust and he’ll be ready for another playoff run, this time with a much better team around him.

Angus Crookshank

While Belleville didn’t have the best week, Crookshank was one of their more productive forwards with a goal and assist in three games this week. With Ottawa lacking any semblance of a decent bottom-six outside of Mathieu Joseph and Derick Brassard, look for Crookshank to potentially push for a spot on the big club.

Cole Reinhardt

Just read the last entry and replace “Crookshank” with “Reinhardt”.

Defencemen:

Jorian Donovan

With back-to-back two-point games against North Bay and Sudbury, the overachieving 5th-round left-shot defenseman from the most recent draft now has 33 points in 40 games with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs. Sitting 7th in the OHL’s Eastern Conference with a 19-19-4 record, they’re certainly a far cry from the squad that won the league last year, but a playoff spot is likely and if Donovan and a few others heat up at the right time, they could pull off an upset on a higher seed.

Chandler Romeo

While not considered a major addition, acquired for a mere 4th-round pick and a swap of 2nds, Romeo is off to a good start with the Guelph Storm nonetheless. The 2021 7th-rounder scored in back-to-back contests to triple his season goal total for the season.

Goalies:

Leevi Merilainen

Of the two goalies in the system who played this week, Merilainen stood out this week with a .957 save percentage in his two starts with Karpat. With Mads Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese struggling, it may come down to the unexpected 3rd-rounder from 2020 to determine if the Sens actually have a goaltender of the future.

Silver Linings:

• With Josh Norris done for the season, Ridly Greig has been called up. He’s had a modest first year in the AHL with 23 points in 28 games, including 12 goals.
• As for the prospects in Sweden, it’s good to see both Filip Nordberg and Oskar Pettersson playing in the SHL. Even with a lack of production, being able to hold down a role on the big club at a young age is a good first step for players drafted after the first round, as is so for 2022 2nd-rounder Nordberg and 2022 3rd-rounder Pettersson. Additionally, Nordberg will take part in the Five Nations tournament from February 6th-12th, representing Sweden.

Stats: